Subscribe to Smart Business Dealmakers
January 12, 2024
Financial Issues To Consider When Doing International Acquisitions
Gentherm closed two deals in July of 2022. One was a German multinational that added to the company's automotive space. The other was a domestic acquisition in China for its medical business. The deal...
By Adam Burroughs
June 23, 2023
DealerShop Acquires Jobbers Automotive
DealerShop, Inc. and Resilience Capital Partners, a Cleveland-based private equity firm, announced it has acquired Jobbers Automotive, a leading full-service supplier of automotive paint, janitorial...
By Dan Pender
May 12, 2023
Cain Toyota and Cain BMW of North Canton Sold
Tim Lamb, President of the Tim Lamb Group, the largest auto dealership sales and acquisitions firm in North America, has brokered the sale of the Cain Toyota and Cain BMW Dealerships in North Canton,...
By Dan Pender
February 24, 2023
U.S. Steel Announces Supply Agreement with General Motors
United States Steel Corporation announced it will supply General Motors with its advanced and sustainable steel solution called verdeX® steel. The steel is manufactured with up to 75 percent fewer...
By Dan Pender
September 9, 2022
CorePower Receives Funding to Scale Up Revolutionary Magnetics
CorePower Magnetics, a startup that delivers magnetic solutions targeting electric vehicles (EVs) and the grid, has raised $2.5 million in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Volta Energy Technologies, as well as Evergreen Climate Innovations and Innovation Works....
By Dan Pender
November 23, 2021
MiddleGround Capital Acquires Mentor's Race Winning Brands
MiddleGround Capital, a private equity firm that makes control investments in North American middle market B2B industrial and specialty distribution companies, has acquired Mentor-based Race Winning...
By Adam Burroughs
June 3, 2020
Performance Dealerships buys Bobby Layman Cadillac GMC
The Performance Columbus Family of Dealerships including Honda Marysville, Honda Marysville Motorsports, Toyota Direct and Performance Chrysler Jeep Dodge RAM (Georgesville & Delaware) has acquired Bobby Layman Cadillac GMC of Fairfield County, Ohio....
By Jayne Gest
June 2, 2020
Volkswagen’s $2.6B investment in Argo AI closes
Volkswagen AG’s investment in Argo AI has closed, which solidifies the Pittsburgh-headquartered business’s capital position and differentiates it as the only self-driving technology platform company with partnerships and commercial agreements, via Ford and Volkswagen, for deployment across the U.S. and Europe....
By Jayne Gest
May 11, 2020
Edge Case Research Raises VC Funding
Edge Case Research Inc. recently raised $8 million in venture funding from undisclosed investors, PitchBook reports. The Pittsburgh company is developing vehicle safety systems intended to make autonomous vehicles safe....
By Jayne Gest
April 1, 2020
Resilience Capital Partners invests in Leader Auto Resources
Leader Auto Resources and Resilience Capital Partners are partnering to expand LAR’s auto dealership sourcing and service business in the U.S....
By Adam Burroughs
March 17, 2020
Dealer Venom purchases WebKite tech
Dealer Venom has acquired the technology from WebKite Inc. With this transaction, Dealer Venom further extends its reach in the digital automotive retail space and lays the foundation to expand its offerings....
By Jayne Gest
February 26, 2020
Crash Champions buys Auto Body Collision & Glass
Crash Champions, a Chicago-based collision repair group, will acquire Auto Body Collision and Glass, a three location collision group in Columbus. Crash Champions will begin operations at these locations on March 2. The transaction marks the first out-of-state acquisition for the organization....
By Jayne Gest
February 12, 2020
Altoona Honda under new ownership
Bill Barnes and Paul Ritchie recently sold Altoona Honda to Timbrook Automotive, which has 11 dealerships throughout Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. This is Timbrook’s first location in Pennsylvania....
By Jayne Gest
February 12, 2020
Gridiron Capital Completes Sale Of Dent Wizard To Dealer Tire
Gridiron is making a significant new investment in the combined platform alongside the majority shareholder, Bain Capital, the Mueller family and the management team....
By Mark Scott
January 28, 2020
Dealmaking Is A Way Of Life For Ken Ganley, Bob Serpentini
Bob Serpentini and Ken Ganley are always ready to make a deal, and their recent acquisition of three Pat O’Brien Chevrolet dealerships is a perfect example of the duo’s go-big-or-go-home mentality....
By Mark Scott
January 16, 2020
Serpentini, Ganley Partner To Buy Three Pat O'Brien Dealerships
Bob Serpentini, in conjunction with partner Ken Ganley, has acquired three Pat O’Brien Chevrolet dealerships in Medina, Westlake and Willoughby. The deal, effective immediately, creates the largest Chevrolet dealership group in Ohio and one of the largest in the country....
By Mark Scott
January 15, 2020
Turnspire Capital Buys MPI Holdings
Founded in 1969, MPI is a Tier 1 supplier of high-precision, fineblanked metal components, and is a leader in safety and mission-critical automotive and industrial parts....
By Mark Scott
January 15, 2020
Amynta Completes Deal To Buy American AutoGuardian
The AAGI acquisition is expected to further solidify Amynta's market leading position, now serving approximately 15,000 dealerships in the U.S. and Canada....
By Mark Scott
January 14, 2020
Weinberg Capital Completes Exit Of AeroRepair
During Weinberg Capital's ownership, AeroRepair grew from a single facility located in New Hampshire to the largest independent wheel and brake maintenance, repair and overhaul platform in North America....
By Mark Scott
January 7, 2020
Goodyear Launches New Venture Capital Fund To Advance Future Mobility
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. announced a new venture capital fund, Goodyear Ventures, with $100 million targeted for new investments in future mobility solutions over the next 10 years....
By Mark Scott
January 7, 2020
Lear Corp. Invests In SV-Based Autotech Ventures
The investment is being made through Lear Innovation Ventures, which was launched one year ago, to identify advanced development teams and early-stage technologies and provide direct capital to innovation initiatives....
By Mark Scott
January 6, 2020
Dealer Tire To Buy St. Louis-Based Dent Wizard
The combination of the two companies is expected to create the leading aftersales dealer services platform in North America....
By Mark Scott
January 5, 2020
Penske Corp. Completes Deal To Buy Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Penske Corp. becomes just the fourth owner in the history of the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which has hosted the world's largest single-day sporting event — the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race — for more than 100 years....
By Mark Scott
December 23, 2019
Rivian Closes $1.3B Investment Round
The financing was led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. Amazon, Ford Motor Co. and funds managed by BlackRock also participated in the round....
By Mark Scott
December 23, 2019
J.D. Power Buys Trilogy Automotive
Trilogy’s SaaS-based enterprise lead management platform will be integrated into J.D. Power’s Autodata Solutions division’s original equipment manufacturer digital dealer platform....
By Mark Scott
December 16, 2019
Goodyear To Buy Raben Tire
Founded in 1952, Raben is one of the largest tire and service companies in the Midwest and has vast operations that include over 30 commercial and consumer tire and service locations and retread production plants....
By Mark Scott
December 6, 2019
Vroom Closes $254M Series H Round, Plans To ‘Rapidly Expand’ Detroit Office
Vroom’s Detroit office is expected to significantly increase its product and engineering staff in 2020, as it accelerates investment in bringing all aspects of the car buying and selling experience online....
By Mark Scott
December 5, 2019
GM, LG Chem Form $2.3B Joint Venture In Lordstown
General Motors and LG Chem have announced plans to mass-produce battery cells for future battery-electric vehicles. Together, the companies will invest up to $2.3 billion through a new, equally owned joint venture company....
By Mark Scott
December 4, 2019
May Mobility Closes $50M Series B Round Led By Toyota
The Series B round brings May Mobility's total raised to $84 million to date and positions the company to further extend its leadership in the autonomous driving landscape....
By Mark Scott
November 21, 2019
Henniges Autmotive’s Larry Williams: Keys To Working Effectively With Private Equity Ownership
Larry Williams has used simple, honest dialogue to build strong ties with each PE firm that has owned Henniges Automotive....
By Mark Scott
November 7, 2019
GM Sells Lordstown Plant To Electric Vehicle Startup
Lordstown Motors Corp. plans to begin building the Endurance electric pickup truck in 2020 and locate its headquarters at the plant....
By Mark Scott
November 5, 2019
Germain Automotive purchases five dealerships
Germain Automotive, owned by Rick Germain, Paul Germain and John Germain, has acquired five Sonic Automotive dealerships located in the Georgesville Auto Mall at I-270 and Georgesville Road....
By Jayne Gest
October 30, 2019
BorgWarner Divests BorgWarner Morse TEC LLC To Enstar
In connection with the deal closing, Auburn Hills-based BorgWarner contributed approximately $172 million in cash to Morse TEC....
By Mark Scott
October 29, 2019
Safelite Group buys Quick’s Glass Service assets
Safelite Group, the Columbus-headquartered vehicle glass services and recalibration company and owner of Safelite AutoGlass, has acquired the assets of Quick’s Glass Service. The transaction will extend its footprint in the northern Central Valley of California....
By Jayne Gest
October 28, 2019
Huron Capital-Backed XLerate Group Makes Eighth Add-On Acquisition
Huron Capital formed XLerate in 2014 to pursue a buy-and-build strategy in the rapidly changing auction industry....
By Mark Scott
October 25, 2019
Columbus Fair Auto Auction purchased
The XLerate Group has acquired Columbus Fair Auto Auction, which joins XLerate’s group of auctions. This transaction bolsters the Indianapolis-based company’s presence in the critical Midwestern market and its capabilities to service large fleet/lease and financial institution customers....
By Jayne Gest
October 22, 2019
SureShade acquired by Lippert Components Manufacturing
Rodan Enterprises LLC, doing business as SureShade, has been acquired by LCI Industries subsidiary, Lippert Components Manufacturing Inc....
By Adam Burroughs
October 21, 2019
Nationwide invests in Upstream Security
Upstream Security, an Israel-based company that provides cybersecurity for connected vehicles, raised $30 million in a Series B funding round backed by a prominent syndicate of investors, including some of the world’s largest OEM automotive vehicle manufacturers, insurance and fleet operators....
By Jayne Gest
October 18, 2019
Always on the lookout for opportunities, Rhett Ricart sees talent as key
Rhett Ricart, who has bought and sold a number of dealerships over the years for Ricart Automotive, shares his M&A strategies and how the family business is tackling succession planning....
By Jayne Gest
October 17, 2019
Piston Group buys Marion Industries
Piston Automotive, a subsidiary of the Piston Group formed by Detroit businessman and NBA legend Vinnie Johnson, has acquired Ohio-based Marion Industries, a Tier 1 assembler of brake modules for Honda of America. The deal expands Piston Automotive’s footprint into the Central Ohio region and further diversifies the company’s growing list of OEM customers....
By Jayne Gest
October 9, 2019
MSX International Buys California-Based PTS
With the acquisition of PTS, MSX expects to strengthen its Channel Management product portfolio with PTS's suite of software tools, proven e-learning and training management platforms....
By Mark Scott
September 30, 2019
Autokiniton Completes Acquisition Of Tower International
AGG's Autokiniton US Holdings, Inc. subsidiary paid $31 a share in cash, or about $900 million after accounting for debt and pension liabilities. The deal was announced in July....
By Michael Marzec
September 26, 2019
Profit By Design buys DealerMax
The company will use the DealerMax brand to market its dealership training and F&I income development programs to an expanded network of dealerships nationally....
By Adam Burroughs
September 18, 2019
Commercial Vehicle Group buys First Source Electronics
New Albany-headquartered Commercial Vehicle Group Inc. has acquired substantially all of the assets and certain liabilities of First Source Electronics LLC, an electronics systems integrator in Elkridge, Maryland, for as much as $44.75 million, subject to certain targets. CVG expects the strategic acquisition to contribute to its long-term growth and allow it to enter the warehouse automation market....
By Jayne Gest
September 12, 2019
Fair Buys Canvas From Ford Credit
Ford Motor Credit Co. The agreement furthers Fair’s leadership position in the vehicle subscription category, enabling the company to continue to accelerate consumer adoption and expansion throughout the U.S....
By Mark Scott
September 10, 2019
Rivian Secures $350M Investment From Cox Automotive
This partnership marks Rivian’s third investment announcement of 2019, following a $700 million investment round in February led by Amazon, and in April, a $500 million investment from Ford Motor Co....
By Mark Scott
September 4, 2019
Safelite buys Auto Glass Specialists
Safelite® Group, a vehicle glass services and recalibration company and owner of Safelite® AutoGlass, has acquired the assets of Auto Glass Specialists. The single store location in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, will expand Safelite’s brick-and-mortar footprint in the area....
By Jayne Gest
August 26, 2019
Myers buys Tuffy
Myers Industries Inc. has acquired the assets of Tuffy Manufacturing Industries Inc., a warehouse distributor of tire repair equipment and supplies....
By Adam Burroughs
August 22, 2019
SpotHero Announces $50M In Series D Funding, Closing In On $1B In All-Time Sales
The company offers the largest place to buy and sell parking in North America and has helped digitize nearly 7,000 parking facilities in the U.S. and Canada....
By Mark Scott
August 20, 2019
Hicks Plastics Co. Bought By PE-Backed Sea Link International
Hicks Plastics is a Tier II provider of injection-molded and metallized automotive forward lighting components headquartered in Macomb, with a secondary facility located in Knoxville, Tennessee....
By Mark Scott
